Songbird
by Sabriel41
Summary: He'd always loved her. Or so it seemed. There were those who had their doubts about the truth of his feelings: he had kidnapped her once, after all... Kouga, Kagome, and the 'beginning of a beautiful friendship.'


Songbird

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"…_you smile, and say the world it doesn't fit with you,  
__ I don't believe you, you're so serene…   
__Careening through the universe, your axis on a tilt,  
__You're guiltless and free, I hope you take a piece of me with you…"_

- _Motorcycle Drive-By, _ Third Eye Blind

.

He'd always loved her. Or so it seemed… there weren't many women who would stand up to him; no, and there certainly weren't many who were as beautiful as _she_ was when she did so. Strength and beauty; she had both… and, he admitted slyly, a pair of beautiful legs. But that was beside the point.

Oh, there were those who had their doubts about the truth of his feelings; he _had_ kidnapped her once, after all. But he shrugged nonchalantly in a familiar way, and chuckled at the thought of it. That incident was ancient history, and while it was far from his beliefs to 'let sleeping dogs lie' – why, when it was so much more fun to boot them out of the trees they insisted on sleeping in? – the old saying held some merit.

What was in the past should stay there.

Of course he valued her for what she was – with the land as unstable as it was, and upstart demons running rampant, fueled by the deadly whispers of the Shikon, her abilities both as miko and 'shard detector' were incredibly useful. And he hadn't fought his way to the alpha position of his pack without a keen sense of pragmatism.

But as he formed a tentative peace with those who she saw as her friends and protectors – with the notable exception of the brat hanyou – he came to look past his original views. Oh, he certainly didn't _discard_ them, but she was more than just a beautiful girl… she hated spiders, was a truly astonishing archer, could cook a mean dish of what she called "rah-men," and while he'd never tried it, if the smell was anything to go by, it was delicious. Not to mention she loved the kitsune cub fiercely, with a mother's affection… the taijiya girl she held as a sister… she could hold off the monk's advances with a mere look, but still respected his judgments, and looked at him as a friend. He didn't understand that – if he were her, the lecherous houshi would be lacking both hands by now. Even as himself, he'd been tempted a time or two to relieve the monk of the offensive appendages.

_Still_, he mused, _that's part of her beauty – she's compassionate. _And for one such as himself, where such a trait would cost him his life, it made her even more captivating. Perhaps a little too innocent to survive in this world on her own… oh, definitely that. But the one thing that damned dog-face could do right – _mostly_, he chuckled, recalling the first time he met her – was ensure that she didn't stray too far…

Even so, he continued to check in on her, assuring himself at first that it was only to make sure that excuse for a hanyou hadn't done anything more stupid than usual, or hurt the woman that _he_ had rashly proclaimed 'his' Kagome. Of course, both happened on a regular basis; the latter more so than the former, and it just made his blood boil at the thought of it. A woman like her was a rare and fortunate find, and should be treated with the respect that she deserves. This was, however, a fact that the hanyou she traveled willingly with – and cared for no little bit – certainly seemed to be missing.

He wasn't blind, after all. He could see how she followed the hanyou around like the proverbial lovesick pup, the emotion sparkling from her eyes so vibrant; bat demons could have seen it from miles away. But the damned dog was even blinder than they, it seemed…

And it … hurt… a little bit to see how the red-clad demon broke her heart, slowly… his own feelings too confused to consider those of the girl who would follow him anywhere but the hell that he had been promised by the girl who shared her soul.

_She deserves better_, he thought to himself. _Much better than… **him.**_

_If she does,_ an insidious little voice at the back of his head hissed, _why don't you steal her away from it all? Again?_

But he dismissed the thought as he picked up her scent in the southern winds blowing up from the coast. With a jaunty nod to his companions, and a growl to remind them that they were, in fact, standing guard, he disappeared in a swirling dervish of wind and earth, senses attuned to everything _she_ was.

The scenery of central Japan flew by unheeded, drawn as he was to the woman he loved. And as he emerged from his whirlwind, his palm raised in a casual wave and lips quirked in a roguish grin, he took in their reactions.

The kitsune's smile widened, clearly expecting a dogfight to begin any second –he resented this, but couldn't exactly deny that it happened more often than not – where the taijiya's posture was mostly relaxed. He did, however, notice that one of her hands hovered defensively over her massive Hiraikotsu, which made sense, especially considering her history. The dark-haired monk returned his wave with a companionable nod, eyes sparking mischievously.

He wondered at that for a second, but as the other man pulled the taijiya closer, arm encircling her waist in a pretense at protection, comprehension dawned in the wolf youkai's eyes, and he chuckled at the outburst from the woman, the feeble protests from the man at her side, and the telltale 'clunk' of the Hiraikotsu.

At the sound – and the sight of the fully-grown man slumping bonelessly to the ground, a lump forming on his head, and a dreamily dazed expression on his face - he couldn't help but wince. He'd been at that end of the gargantuan boomerang before, and at close range… that must have _hurt._ A burst of lilting laughter from his side, however, pulled him out of his sympathetic thoughts.

Kagome.

And there she stood, a curious goddess if there ever was one, in too short a skirt and wildly wavy hair swirling about her shoulders and upper back, giggling at the antics of her friends, eyes cast upwards to greet him.

Better yet, there was neither sight nor smell of that infernal hanyou. Not yet anyway. And he was never one to waste an opportunity, much less one as stunning as she was.

But no sooner had they exchanged the various pleasantries of a greeting than his keen senses picked up the loud rattling of underbrush at the edge of the clearing directly behind him… from the stench of whatever was doing the rattling, it was undoubtedly the hanyou, and his _youki_ was one inch short of enraged.

Deciding to play this opportunity to the hilt, Kouga smiled down at the girl by his side, and clasped her hands in his in their usual 'embrace.' _Why not ask her_, he thought to himself. _She deserves better… you know it… she deserves better than you, but at least you love her. And it'll piss off the hanyou too…_ "Kagome," he began… and utterly froze, the words halting on his tongue.

Her gaze became mildly concerned, blue-grey eyes narrowing slightly at his uncharacteristic hesitation and trying to read his expression for the words he didn't say. "Is everything all right, Kouga-kun?"

He broke their eye contact, but his hands did not leave hers. Suddenly, the situation didn't seem as funny as it once did… the look in her eyes answered the question he'd asked himself earlier. She _did_ deserve better – better than either he or the hanyou could offer her as their mate. He couldn't ask her what he wanted to, even in jest, and he shook his head dismissively, eyes returning to hers carefully. "It's nothing, Kagome," he replied softly, squeezing her hands lightly. "But… thank you."

The nearest of the bushes rustled angrily at his words. And after that, several things happened simultaneously. Kagome winked – winked! – at him, and slipped her hands out of his to rest purposefully on her hips. He whirled around moments later, hand grasping the hilt of his katana to meet the hanyou who leaped out of his 'cover,' Tetsusaiga in hand. But before the blades could meet each other, Kagome's cry brought everyone in the small clearing to an absolute halt, including – especially – the airborne hanyou.

And as Inuyasha crashed to the earth at Kagome's shout, somehow evading impalement at the edge of the oversized tusk he called a sword, Kouga remembered yet another reason for loving her. _Heck, I could probably love her for that alone_, he chuckled.

His grin widened as she stormed over to the prone hanyou, eyes glinting angrily. "What have I _told_ you about attacking allies," she yelled, "that will not get through your thick _excuse_ for a brain?! Seriously, Inuyasha…" Letting him stew for a minute or two in a curiously Inuyasha-shaped crater, her soft heart eventually got the better of her, and she helped him up into a sitting position.

It was clear that the hanyou resented the necessity of help, but the wolf demon had to admit that his rival for her affection wasn't a complete idiot. As Kagome's arms slipped around him, guessably to help the bruised hanyou sit up, the hanyou in question looked over her shoulder to smirk over at him.

Maybe there was such a thing as being _too_ compassionate…

Fortunately, she stood up soon afterwards, and made her way back to him. But if the look in her eyes was anything to go by, he wasn't completely 'off the hook' either.

"You shouldn't bait him, Kouga-kun," Kagome began, her expression stern, but the muffled laughter in her eyes indicating that she wasn't _really_ mad. "You know how he gets…"

She continued to scold him playfully, but his attention waned from her as a thought caught at him. She was much like a songbird, his little Kagome… and while one part of him wanted to cage that bird by holding her to him, for forever and a day… he knew that he would lose what he loved most about her if he did so. Oh, he could make her love him, and forget that fool hanyou – it wouldn't be that hard, either, with the soothing numbness of Time as his ally. But he couldn't make himself do it.

She was beautiful to him because she was like that songbird…because she was loyal, stunning, but not without claws of her own… because she could giggle like a maiden one second and bring a fierce hanyou to his knees with a single word the next … but most of all, because she was free.

And who was he to change that?

…fin…

* * *

SABRIEL'S SCRIBBLES: As an Inuyasha writer, I'm fairly new, but the idea of Kouga/Kagome always intrigued me. I'm not sure if it would actually _work_ as a relationship, but Kouga was a surprisingly fun protagonist to write, so the story remained... Reposted, because I realized that two sentences disappeared from the middle of it. Not quite sure how that works, but… should I lose the reviews from the first version - thanks to _silverlocke980_ and _ahanchan _for your kind words! This remains an one-shot, but perhaps I'll write more IY-based fics in the future.

Comments and constructive criticism are always welcome; in the meanwhile, Cheers, and Starry Nights.

DISCLAIMER: Kagome, Kouga, and the rest of the Inu Yasha crew belong to Rumiko Takahashi and appropriate associates – certainly not to me; I'm a poor University student. Likewise, "Motorcycle Drive By" is Third Eye Blind's. (And a rather good K/K theme, actually…)


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